Closing Curtains
by Runawaybaby555
Summary: She was the star of the show, and he was just a boy on the stage crew. But he wanted more than ever to be the Romeo to her Juliet. Spoby AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! For those of you who have read some of my work in the past, you'll know that this is SLIGHTLY out of my element since I'm not the biggest Spoby shipper, but this idea came to me randomly and I wanted to try it out! So read on and see how you like it, and ALSO: keep an eye out for my current project, Coming Around, a Sparia fic that I hold dearly to my heart. Enough of my talking, though. Enjoy!**

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It was a gorgeous autumn day in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, with a gentle breeze gracing the crisp air and the sun peaking through the changing leaves on the trees. Since it was later in the afternoon, school was just getting out, so the city was overflowing with kids of all ages filling the sidewalks as they strolled home from school, either excitedly engaging in conversation about the day's classes or trudging along in reluctance to start their homework. Some of younger ages were even riding their bikes and playing at the park, tightening their scarves around their necks so that they could bask in the sunshine and enjoy the chilly, yet beautiful, Tuesday.

Not that Toby Cavanaugh would know any of this, of course, because he had to hole up in the back room in the Rosewood County Art Center, sawing wood to build the set for the Philadelphia Players' upcoming production of _Romeo and Juliet_.

He certainly didn't mind sawing wood or building sets; in fact, as a fan of architecture and aspiring carpenter, it was one of his favorite pastimes. And it wasn't that he hated being away from the sun, either, for his smooth, pale skin was a firm indicator that he tended to stay away from it, anyway. Plus, he wouldn't have taken this job at the community theater if he didn't enjoy it, or need the money, but there was something tugging at the back of his brain that told him he wanted the play to be over as soon as possible.

Trying his hardest to break free from his pressing thoughts, Toby fastened the straps on his goggles so that they fit his chiseled facial structure and drew himself nearer to the block of wood, making sure he cut it at the perfect ninety degree angle. As much as he kept telling himself that he didn't even want to be at this rehearsal, he still wanted to do a good job on the set, and the money he would receive was just a bonus. Building and designing things was something he'd loved doing since he was little, and he wasn't going to let something as silly as this get in the way of making something that he was proud of.

The piece of wood hit the ground with a _thwack_, and when Toby knelt down and further examined it, he felt satisfied with his work. Wiping sweat from his brow and removing his goggles, Toby stood up from the ground, stretching out his long, jean-clad legs in front of him as he let out a yawn and twisted his torso so that he could loosen the tension in his back. He had been chopping and sawing since eight this morning, and he was ready for a much-needed break. If only there was a way to get his demanding stage manager, Mona Vanderwaal, to allow him to have one.

Toby turned around, combing his shaggy, sandy brown hair back with his fingers as he scanned the room. He saw most of the other tech members working on sorting their piles of wood, while others were examining the sizes of metal rods that they would hold up the wooden platforms and planks with. They were working on building a scaffolding for the stage, one that could function as a balcony for the two leads, as well as provide levels for the party guests in a particular scene. The show was in a couple of weeks, and they were a little behind schedule, so they were trying to make up for lost time by crunching in as many hours in a single day as they could manage. Toby was actually alright with this, because it wasn't like he had any plans outside of working here, and he genuinely enjoyed the company of majority of the people at the rehearsals, and had even made friends with some of the actors.

Since his friends in the show were on the stage at the time, Toby had been working rigorously, but after counting 34 yard-length planks of wood and 7 sanded platforms, he allowed himself to set his saw down and walk over to a couple of his friends, Lucas Gottesman and Holden Strauss. Lucas was studying a blueprint intently, while Holden was sprawled out on top of the table that Lucas was working on, hands behind his head and eyes closed.

Toby rolled his eyes at the sight. "Hi, guys."

Holden lazily blinked as he rolled up into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes as he took in the sight of Toby. "Hey, champ," he said with a loud yawn. "We were wondering when you were going to come up for air."

Toby chuckled as he averted his eyes over to his pile of wood, neatly stacked and evenly chopped. "Guess I just needed a distraction," he said with a shrug.

Upon hearing this, Lucas joined Holden in looking up at Toby with a somber expression. They knew about his little... problem. In fact, as far as he could tell, everyone in the crew _and_ cast knew about his little problem.

Everyone except the person that it concerned.

"Sorry, buddy," Lucas said sympathetically. "But hey, only a couple of weeks! Hang in there!"

"I will hang _you_ by your _throat_ if you keep dilly-dallying."

The curt voice made the boys nearly leap out of their now prickled skin, and Toby whipped around to meet face to face with the source of it.

Mona was currently sporting a cropped blazer, a floral top, tight leather pants, and a pair of heels to heighten her and make her appear more intimidating. Even without the height boost, though, the way her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail made her ethnic features incredibly more pointed and scary, as though she was preparing to leap at her prey at any given second.

Holden groaned as he hopped off of the table. "C'mon, Mona," he whined, "we've been working for _hours!_ Don't you think we deserve a little break?"

"The show is in two weeks and the set isn't even nearly done!" Mona scowled, and Toby could feel her eyes on him as she said it. In truth, it was partly his fault that they were so behind on building the set since he took such a long time to get the design and blueprints ready, but that was only because he wanted it all to be perfect!

"Five minutes isn't going to make a difference," Lucas pleaded as he crossed his arms over his navy hoodie. "Please?"

Mona pondered this for a minute, taking a pen out of her clipboard and tapping it to her chin for emphasis. Toby knew her well enough to know that she had already made up her mind, but was pretending to take so long to come up with a decision for suspense... and torture.

Finally, she sighed as she lowered her arms. "Fine," she complied. "But as soon as you're finished, you report right back here and get back to work. And _don't_ touch the lemonade in the breakroom, that belongs to me. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am," they all groaned as they set down their things. Lucas took a pen out of his hair, and Holden removed his goggles as he roughly shook his head to remove his long, dark curls from his eyes. Once his face was free of hair, his lips curled into a large, cheeky grin.

"So, we're totally stealing the lemonade from the breakroom, right?"

Lucas eagerly nodded his head as he just about skipped forward to join Holden in his excursion. "Definitely! I'm parched!"

Toby laughed as he started to walk alongside the other two, but before he could join them, his ears perked up with the sound of voices coming from the stage. He halted in his steps as he looked over to his right, and saw a strip of light push its way through a bundle of curtains thrown to the side of the stage. In order to get to the breakroom, they would have to cut backstage, and right now the actors were in the middle of a large scene that included nearly the entire cast. It was the Capulet party scene, and throughout the hum of whispers from various cast members, he could make out a familiar sweet, sultry voice that rang through the commotion like a bell.

"Toby! You coming?"

Toby jolted as he turned to face Holden and Lucas, who were looking at him questioningly. Toby gave the boys an unsure smile as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Umm... I'd rather not have Mona strangle me, so I'll pass."

Lucas furrowed his eyebrow. "You sure? Some refreshments will cool you off."

"Really, I'm sure," Toby politely declined, his eyes wandering over to the light shining through the curtain. It was calling out to him, and the voice on the other side of it was drawing him in like a siren. Some lemonade and Mona's fists at his stomach could wait.

Lucas still looked unsure, but Holden pulled him along, giving Toby a look that showed he understood. Toby ducked his head as he felt a blush creeping on. Why did he have to be so obvious?

Once Holden and Lucas were out of sight, Toby gained the courage to leave his spot and step forward. There was a small hole in the curtain at his eye level, and he stood back enough that he could look through it without being seen. Onstage, Romeo and Juliet had just spotted each other at the party, and were having a starry-eyed conversation underneath the too-bright spotlight.

Noel Kahn, who had the role of Romeo and whose back was currently facing Toby, held his script up with one hand as he took Juliet's hand with the other. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand," he said softly as he held Juliet's hand higher, squeezing it tenderly, "this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

The actress playing Juliet giggled lightly as Noel planted a gentle kiss on the surface of her hand, and Toby felt as though he'd never seen such a beautiful sight. The way her fair face lit up, the way her white smile reached her auburn, expressive eyes, and even the way she bit her lip and broke eye contact to read her next line was perfect. She scanned the page quickly, eyes dancing back and forth, before looking up, gazing into her partner's eyes lovingly. "Good pilgrim," she spoke, line delivery and articulation on point as always, "you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

Toby continued to watch as he leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms across his black t-shirt, watching as the two interacted and wishing more than ever that he could be the one she was gazing adoringly at as he charmingly kissed her hand. The scene progressed, and the conversation got continually more heated, until it ended with a passionate kiss. And with that, Toby hopped off of the wall and sulked away, not wanting to see the rest of it.

Because the more he dreamed about it, the more he realized that he would never get the chance to kiss Spencer Hastings, no matter how in love with her he was.

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**What did you think? Reviews mean the next chapter gets uploaded sooner ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks everyone for the great reviews last chapter! To be clear, I AM a Spoby shipper, but I'm more of a VINTAGE Spoby shipper than a shipper of them currently, which is pretty much how I am with all of the couples. So when I write for them, I tie into them during their glory days! Also, since this is AU, there is no A (pretty nice, right?). All of the characters simply met through doing theatre productions together through their company instead of going to Rosewood High together.**

**Enough rambling. Time for the next chapter - where you'll be getting some Sparia! Can't have a Runawaybaby555 fic without them ;)**

**Enjoy! :) **

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"Spencer, c'mon, just tell me the next line!"

Spencer Hastings laughed as she popped a shelled pistachio in her mouth from the bag that was resting next to her. "Nope!" she said stubbornly, making it clear how much she was enjoying this. "You have to guess it yourself, or no treats."

Spencer's best friend, Aria Montgomery, groaned as she dramatically sprawled her arms out across Spencer's knees. The two girls had been rehearsing for hours, and their director had given the cast a ten minute break to rest and go over lines. Now, Spencer and Aria were in a comfortable repose in the middle of the stage, with Spencer in a sitting position and Aria flat on her back with her head in Spencer's lap. To Spencer's right, next to her bag of mixed nuts, she had her script out, where she was reading lines for Aria to memorize.

"Please," Aria complained. "My brain is fried, just tell me what it is."

"Aria, the show is in two weeks!" Spencer exclaimed, trying to sound stern through her snickers at the sight of Aria in such a despondent position, with her eyes closed and her limbs spread out like she was a starfish. Sometimes, Spencer wondered if their roles had been mixed up, and that with her own nurturing, sharp disposition, and Aria's neurotic, romantic flare, Spencer should be playing the nurse and Aria should be playing Juliet in their upcoming production. "You have this!"

"No, I don't!" Aria violently shook her head, eyes still closed and head still resting on Spencer's lap as she rubbed her long, dark hair against Spencer's jean shorts. "Spence, I'm starving, just give me some nuts already."

"You haven't said the line yet!" Spencer argued, but Aria was persistent, and Spencer could tell that she wasn't giving up by what she did next. This entire time, she had her eyes squeezed shut, but she finally popped them open, revealing the round hazel orbs that she knew Spencer - and hell, _everyone_ - couldn't resist.

"I'll be able to focus better when my blood sugar isn't plummeting to negative levels," she pointed out, batting her eyelashes for long enough of a time for Spencer to give in, defeatedly fishing into her ziplock bag and coming up with a handful of almonds, cashews, and pistachios, and then popping one into Aria's mouth, grumbling about how she better not make a scene and choke on them as several images of Shaggy feeding Scooby Doo his eponymous snacks entered her brain.

Aria gratefully chewed on the cashew before sighing and adjusting herself further on Spencer's long legs so that she could speak clearly. "'Now, by my maidenhead at twelve year old I bade her come," she said, speaking pompously as she even gracefully threw her hands up above her to appear older than she actually was, getting into character now. "What, lamb! What, ladybird! God forbid! Where's this girl? What, Juliet!'"

Spencer's eyebrows skyrocketed off of her forehead as her eyes scanned the page in front of her. "Excellent," she said incredulously as she popped another cashew into Aria's mouth. "You didn't miss a single word."

Aria finally rose from her position, stretching out her little arms and legs as she leaned over, now sitting up. "Well, duh," she said coyly, brushing a piece of hair back behind her ear as she smirked at Spencer. "You're not the only one who can memorize long Shakespearean soliloquies at the click of your tongue."

"Maybe not," Spencer said with a shrug as she stood up from the ground, adjusting the fall of her sweatshirt before helping Aria up as well. "But I _was_ the first one to memorize all of my lines back when we did _Much Ado About Nothing_."

"How could I forget?" Aria rolled her eyes playfully. "You only proceeded to remind all of us every single day."

Before Spencer even had time to come up with a witty comeback, there was a series of loud clapping sounds at the front of the auditorium, down at the bottom of the stage. That was the call from their director to gather around for further instruction, so Spencer and Aria walked forward, and were soon joined by their friend Emily as they watched the effervescent 30-year-old stand excitedly before them, a notebook in one hand and a half-drunken water bottle in his other.

"Alright, guys," Ezra Fitz said authoritatively as he grazed over his notes, his baseball cap covering his sweet blue eyes and casting a shadow over his defined jawline as he ducked his head to look more closely. "Really impressive work today! I just need to see the following people to give some more detailed notes to..."

Ezra then proceeded to flip through his spiral notebook, making a series of faces as he searched for his list of names, while Spencer turned to Aria and Emily to talk for a bit.

"You guys were great today," Emily beamed, a wide smile lighting up her olive skin. Aria grinned and gave her thanks, but Spencer was a little more unsure.

"I messed up a bunch of times," she said uneasily, "and we don't have a lot of time left to fix any major mistakes."

Aria and Emily shared a look, and Spencer knew they were silently making fun of her perfectionistic behavior, but she couldn't help it! She needed her performance to be perfect, and she needed to give herself a reason for staying in show business in the first place. She had a line up of leading roles on her pedestal since she was in middle school, and had always known in the back of her mind that a career in theatre was where she wanted to be headed, yet somehow she still always felt like she wasn't on the right path, and little things like tweaking a performance were what she needed to convince herself that she wasn't just wasting time on the stage.

"Spencer, you were fine," Emily reassured. "So you stumbled on a few lines, it's okay!"

"And worst comes to worst, just blame Noel on your next screw up," Aria said cheekily, which got Spencer to crack a smile. But as she turned her attention to the far left side of the stage, where Noel Kahn was lazily leaning against the wall and checking his phone, only glancing up when a seemingly attractive cast member belonging to the opposite sex walked by, her smile dissipated.

"Believe me," she scoffed, thinking back with disgust at how big of a slackoff Noel was and how he hardly even had half of his lines memorized, to the point that during their entire balcony scene Spencer couldn't even see his face; he had his nose in his script the entire time. "He could do well with me taking the responsibility for once."

"And... Emily Fields!" Ezra proclaimed up front, causing Emily to jolt in surprise.

"What notes could he _possibly_ have for me?" she said snarkily. "I play a _tree!_"

Aria and Spencer couldn't help but laugh at this as a blush that was a deeper red even than the blouse she was wearing crept to Emily's cheek. As she bid the girls farewell and walked downstage, Ezra closed his notebook and plopped it down on one of the fold-up chairs behind him, before facing the rest of the cast with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.

"You guys have all worked incredibly hard today, so I'm just gonna meet with these few people, and then let you all go thirty minutes early!"

There was an explosion of cheers among the cast, and Aria and Spencer turned to each other in shock.

"Fitz letting us go _early?_" Aria exclaimed in mock appall. "I never thought I'd see the day."

Spencer picked up her script and nuts from the ground, deciding not to question it. It was rare that their director cut them such slack, but she was willing to grasp any break she could get. She loved rehearsing, and long rehearsals never bothered her, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a good nap at the moment. "Someone should notify the crew," she said as she adjusted a post-it note on her script, and Aria nodded as she grabbed her things from the side of the stage.

She was just hoisting her bag further up on her shoulder when her eyes widened, and she wagged her finger back and forth with a sly grin on her face. "You're not eating the rest of those, are you?" she asked, pointing to the bag of nuts Spencer was still holding.

Giving up, Spencer rolled her eyes as she chucked them in the air, and Aria caught them with one hand. "Just take 'em," Spencer called, and Aria delightedly opened the bag and started munching on them, before blowing a kiss to Spencer and heading toward the back room where the stage crew was hard at work.

Spencer walked down the steps to where her bag was sitting, packing up and already thinking about relaxing at home. It was four o'clock already, but she still had time to brew some tea, get out her old copy of _Oedipus Rex_, maybe even light some candles and take a bubble bath.

As she closed her leather bound bag, hiked it up her shoulder, and waved goodbye to everyone, she headed out the door, her mind filling up with how she would spend her evening. She started working out an R&R schedule so that she could fit in as many destressing activities as possible, and still get to bed by 10 o'clock. Maybe she'd fit some time to go over her lines a couple more times, but she was also a season behind on _Game of Thrones_, and her roommate would strangle her if she didn't at least watch one episode -

_THUD!_

Before she knew it, Spencer was walking into a brick wall. Or at least what felt like a brick wall.

Disoriented, and blinded by the sudden sunlight, Spencer shielded her eyes and knelt down to pick up the remnants of her binder that she had dropped. Some pages of her script had fallen out, and she hastily reached down to pick them up before any gust of wind could carry them away.

"I'm so sorry," she sputtered out as she tucked the pages into the binder, making a promise to sort them later so as not to waste time now... or further embarrass herself. "I guess I just wasn't looking where I was going."

She rose to her feet and tucked her binder into her bag, zipping it tightly this time, and when she looked up, she finally got a good look at the face of her brick wall.

The brightest baby blues eyes she had ever seen were now staring back at her, and fair skin popped in contrast to a black half-sleeved shirt, which was fitted in all of the right places. She got a good look at his shaggy brown hair when he looked down at a page in his hand, but once he raised it, a smile reached those gorgeous blue eyes as he extended his hand. "You dropped this."

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**And the epic love story begins.**

**If you liked this chapter, please review saying so! Reviews make me happy/prompt me to update faster. Love you all :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am SO sorry that I'm so late with uploading, but thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! Things just got a little crazy this weekend, but your chapter is here now! And I'll keep this short and let you get to it ;)**

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"You dropped this."

As soon as the words fell from his lips like a handful of stones dropped from a cliff, Toby immediately wanted to kick himself. Standing before him, looking absolutely stunning in only a sweatshirt and a pair of jean shorts, was the love of his life, and all he could do was state the obvious?

Spencer blinked, obviously confused by his bluntness - _why_ was he so _stupid?_ - but then came to her senses as she reached for the page. "Oh," she said softly, and he felt that he would faint at the realization that the same sweet, sultry voice that he would listen to backstage was now only a foot away. "Umm... thanks."

She tucked a stray brunette piece of hair behind her ear as she opened her bag and shoved the page in it, while Toby tried his hardest not to stare. Her sleek brown locks were falling ever so gently down her shoulders, and the sun haloed the crown of her head as its beams caught onto the roots of her hair. As she bent onto one knee so that she could support her bag, he caught sight of her legs - porcelain, long, and lean. And as she lifted her head ever so slightly while she zipped up the bag, he even noticed a small beauty mark near the top of her cheek. He knew most girls to be insecure about something as small as that, but he thought it was adorable.

He didn't know how long he had been staring at Spencer, but it felt like hours when she finally looked up. Toby quickly ducked his head, staring at his untied shoelaces so she didn't suspect anything. But after a moment, he realized how awkward he was being, so he slowly raised his head again as he tried to think of a good conversation starter.

But it turned out he wouldn't have to, because once he was upright again, Spencer was looking up at him with a warm, toothless smile. "You're on stage crew, right?" she offered.

Toby felt like his heart was going to grow wings. She knew he was on stage crew? As in she'd seen him around the theatre, building the set? As in she _knew he existed?_

"How'd you know?" he blurted out before he could stop himself, his mouth miles ahead of his mind. But once his mind had caught up, he just wanted to kick himself again.

Spencer again looked startled by the question, but she continued to answer it anyway. "I just haven't seen you in the ensemble or anything, so I assumed," she answered. "Also... you're wearing black."

Toby looked down, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks as he noticed his black t-shirt. So she hadn't noticed him like he thought. "Well, it's good to know we have an identity for ourselves," he said with a shrug, and Spencer giggled at his somewhat witty comment. Again, Toby could feel his heart swelling to the point that he was afraid his chest would burst open. He was really carrying on a conversation with her. After god-knew-how-many months gazing from afar, he was standing in front of her, _talking_ to her.

Deciding to roll with the streak he was on, he stuck his hand out in front of him. "I'm Toby," he said, in the most friendly way he could manage, and Spencer took his hand without hesitation, shaking it immediately. He didn't let go right away, and he couldn't help but notice how natural her hand felt in his, but he also couldn't help but feel like he was imagining that part.

She looked up at him, squinting as the sun got into her eyes. "I'm Spencer," she said as she stuck her hand up to her forehead, shielding her eyes.

"I know," Toby said quickly, but again, found himself wishing he didn't. "I mean... I only know because you're, you know, the lead. You play Juliet."

Spencer laughed a little more loudly this time as she nodded her head. "Yes, that's the role I play," she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but it was light sarcasm, nothing cynical about it. That was a good sign. At least she wasn't _annoyed_ with him.

Toby stuck his hands in his pockets, a habit of his when he got nervous. "And... you're really good in your role, you know."

He knew Spencer probably got this compliment a lot, but he appreciated the way she beamed at him as though it were the first time anyone had taken the time to let her know how talented she was. "Thank you," she said gratefully. "And you built the set, right?"

Toby immediately straightened his posture. Now was his chance. "Actually... I designed it, too."

Spencer's caramel eyes grew to the size of saucers, but before she could say anything, a car honk sounded behind them, causing both Spencer and Toby to jolt five feet in the air. Once they were both on the ground, Spencer's vision was focused behind Toby's shoulder, and when she let out an amused sigh, Toby pivoted to see what she was staring at.

A blonde girl was slouched over the steering wheel in a silver Prius, inconveniently parked in the middle of the parking lot. "Spencer!" the girl shouted impatiently. "C'mon, get in the car! I wanna watch the _America's Next Top Model_ episode that I taped!"

When Toby turned back around, Spencer gave him an apologetic look, but didn't let the hint of playfulness escape her eyes as she gave it. "That's my roommate," she said as she walked toward the car, and Toby wondered if it'd be appropriate to follow.

"Hey." The girl in the car folded her thin arms over her flowy tank top. "How about saying it with more enthusiasm? Where's my proper introduction?"

Toby watched as Spencer rolled her eyes while opening the car door, but he was surprised when she looked over to him and ushered for him to come over. Toby's ears perked up as he walked forward, and Spencer directed his attention toward the window.

"Toby, this is my roommate, Hanna," she said, gesturing to the blonde in the car. "She's a huge slob and a pain in the _ass_, but she's a lot of fun to hang out with and helps me when it comes to how _incompetent_ I am with my hair and make-up." She then turned to Hanna, narrowing her eyes. "How's that for an intro?"

Hanna stuck her chin up, pursing her glossed lips as she closed her eyes snootily. "Much better," she said approvingly.

Spencer then placed a hand on Toby's arm while he kept his mouth tightly shut, afraid that the butterflies in his stomach would flutter up through his esophagus and escape through his lips.

"Hanna, this is Toby," she said. "He works on stage crew and designed the set!"

Hanna's eyes widened. It looked like this caught her attention. "I'll be working backstage next week!" she said excitedly.

Spencer nodded her head as she turned back to Toby. "Hanna always does make-up for all of our shows."

"Well, if I said it was out of the goodness of my heart, I'd be lying," Hanna said bashfully. "My boyfriend is a part of the company."

"Who's your boyfriend?" Toby asked, happy for the opportunity to speak, and even happier when the words exiting his mouth came out normally, not in the form of any insects.

"Caleb Rivers," Hanna answered, and before Toby could respond that he knew Caleb, and was actually pretty good friends with him, Spencer's hand released from its grasp around his arm as she opened the car door and slipped inside.

"Well, it was good meeting you, Toby!" Spencer said genuinely as she buckled her seatbelt. "But we need to get going."

"No problem," he said, hoping his disappointment wasn't leaking through his voice. He could sit here and talk to her forever, no matter how tongue tied he got in her presence. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

After she set her bag down at her feet, Spencer looked up, giving him another smile, the kind that didn't show off her teeth, but reached her eyes. It was his favorite kind of smile. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

Before Toby knew what was happening, Hanna stepped on the gas pedal, and the two drove off. Toby pressed his hand to his right arm where Spencer had touched him. He knew the imprint wouldn't last, but he would remember the exact place that her cool skin collided with his forever.

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**Looks like our love birds have finally had an interaction!**

**Next chapter, you want to get as soon as possible. LOTS of Spanna ;D AND I will be replying to reviews next chapter. However, I won't update until I get up to 20 reviews, so better get cracking! Love you guys! :***


	4. Chapter 4

**Andddddd several scattered reviews and many weeks later, here we are. What happened to you guys? How come you just disappeared? Remember, if I don't get any reviews, I'm not going to have a lot of incentive to post the rest of this story. I see a lot of you guys are favoriting/following, so it's really disheartening when you do all of that, yet don't let me know what you think of my work.**

**Now, I'm _finally_ able to post this chapter, which is one of my favorites because, well, Spanna. I'll just let the words speak for themselves :)**

* * *

Spencer sprawled herself out on her poster bed, her toes touching the edge of the perfectly pleated comforter as she nursed a Stephen King book in her hands - she had finished _Oedipus Rex_ a few minutes after she had returned home, so she decided to move onto _The Stand_, which Aria had lent her and highly recommended.

She had just taken a shower, and she was letting her wet hair soak in a towel wrapped around her head while she relaxed in a thin henley and sweatpants - both color coordinated with each other, of course. She always liked for everything to be in order, and she was never able to fully relax until everything was. All of the books on the bookshelf attached to her bedside table were organized in alphabetical order, all of her candles were lined up by height on top, and if there was a single speck of dust on her area of the apartment, she would be at that speck in an instant with a rag and a bottle of Windex, scrubbing the area until it sparkled.

Of course, that was just _her_ side of the apartment. On the other side, Hanna had laundry, bras, old Cosmos magazines, and half empty bags of junk food sprawled all over the carpet, and she was perfectly comfortable laying on her stomach on her unmade bed, laughing her head off at whatever Netflix show she was watching - she had finished her _America's Next Top Model_ episode while Spencer was in the shower - and listening to through her headphones, as she shoved Doritos into her mouth.

Spencer rolled her eyes as she lowered her book to face Hanna. "Han, can you tone down the high pitched squeals? I'm trying to read here."

Hanna impatiently pressed a key on her laptop and pulled an earphone out as she faced Spencer. "What?" she said a little too loudly.

Spencer winced, sighing heavily as she repeated her request. "You're at a 9 right now in terms of volume, and I need you to bring it down to a 4 _at most_."

Hanna furrowed her brow, looking at Spencer as though she had just asked her to buy their groceries on Pluto. "Well, _sor-ry_," she said sardonically. "I have my headphones in, and I tried my hardest not to disturb her royal highness, but I _guess_ I should've tried harder."

"Yes, you should have," Spencer said shortly as she licked her finger and turned the page. "Your show was silent, but your laughter _certainly_ made up for the lack of noise." Just as Spencer was about to get back into her book, she looked up and added, "Why are you laughing so hard, anyway? What are you watching?"

Now Hanna had fully removed her headphones from her ears. "_Orange is the New Black_," she answered excitedly as she shifted her position on the bed so that she was sitting up with her thin legs crossed like a pretzel in front of her. "The second season just came out today."

"Is that the one with the lesbians in the prison?"

Hanna rapidly nodded her head as she shoved another Dorito in her mouth. "I'm telling you, this is hysterical!" she spoke through her chewing, before patting the spot next to her on the bed. "Care to join me?"

Spencer put her fingers to her temples, rubbing them in smooth circles. Hanna could be such a handful sometimes. "I'm good with just reading my book, thanks," she said as she rested her head back down on her pillow, but Hanna did not seem at all content with this.

"C'mon!" she whined, smacking her hands down on her wrinkled mattress. "You never want to do anything with me!"

"I'm just really tired, I've barely had any time to breathe with all of these rehearsals lately," Spencer said dimly, throwing her head back and fighting to keep her eyes open. She really was exhausted. "But hey! If you handle dinner tonight, maybe I'll have enough energy to do something with you."

Hanna's sky blue eyes lit up as she sprung herself off of the bed. "I saw this recipe for an amazing pesto dish on the Foot Network! I can make that!"

Spencer's eyes widened as she shook her head in fear. "I don't know if I trust you to actually _cook_ something," she said apprehensively. "Why don't we just order pizza?"

"Are you crazy?" Hanna asked, cocking an eyebrow up to her hairline and looking at Spencer like she was the stupidest thing. "The oil and grease will cause you to break out! You can't have a face full of zits two weeks before your show!"

"Please." Spencer swatted a hand through the air as she used her other hand to dog-ear the page in her book that she was on and set it to the side. "I'm twenty-four years old, I think I'm past the point of getting zits."

"Who's the make-up artist _slash_ skin care specialist in this relationship?"

"Not you!" Spencer argued. "You just made that up!"

"I can be whatever I want," Hanna said passively, and while Spencer wanted to fight back, the way Hanna was standing over her with a pout on her face and chip crumbs encompassing her mouth, Spencer couldn't say no. She often wondered how she put up with Hanna, but the answer always remained that the blonde was too darn _cute_ sometimes.

When Spencer finally sighed in agreement to Hanna's pesto pasta, Hanna clapped her hands happily. "Great! Now get your skinny ass out of bed and help me find ingredients."

Ignoring the insult, Spencer removed her towel from her head, quickly pulled her damp hair into a bun, and rose from the bed, following Hanna into the kitchen, which was only as immaculate as it was because Spencer refused to let the hygiene of the area deplete to the level of Hanna's bedside area. "And what if you don't have all of the ingredients?"

Hanna had taken her laptop with her, and had set it on the counter as she wore a focused expression, searching up the recipe. "We improvise," she said with an unsympathetic shrug, and Spencer slapped her palm against her face. Hanna was surely going to poison her by the end of this.

The two girls had managed to scrape together most of the ingredients that were needed, and by the time the pasta was boiling in hot water over the stove and Spencer and Hanna were putting together a pesto sauce in the blender, both were too lazy to try to pick any remaining ingredients up from the grocery store, so they had thrown in a few hodge podge spices as a replacement.

While the sauce was blending, Hanna turned to Spencer, a smirk on her face so wide that Spencer nearly dropped the stirring spoon she was holding. "What?"

Hanna's smirk grew wider as she leaned back against the counter. "Who was that boy you were talking to when I picked you up earlier today?"

Spencer raised her eyebrows in surprise as she crossed her arms. Honestly, that was the last thing she thought Hanna would say, and the encounter from earlier hadn't exactly been on her mind... until now. "His name is Toby, you know that. I introduced you."

Hanna snorted, clearly unsatisfied. "Yeah, I know his _name_," she said, discontented, "but I don't know anything else about him besides that he's on stage crew. How do you two know each other?"

Spencer shrugged, arms still crossed. "We just met today," she said nonchalantly. "I don't know very much about him." She then narrowed her eyes as she added, "Why? Are you interested?"

"_God_, no," Hanna said, waving her arms in front of her to clarify. "In case you haven't realized, I'm already tied down to someone."

She jerked her head in the direction of the corner of the counter, where a picture of her and her boyfriend, Caleb, stood proudly in sight. He was giving her a piggyback ride, and she had her arms wrapped around his neck as she lovingly kissed him on the cheek. Spencer had always thought that they were a beautiful couple, and she really admired Hanna's commitment to Caleb. Before Caleb, Hanna had seen a plethora of attractive guys that were nice when she first met them, but then she would dump them the minute she saw that they were only after her for her ditzy personality and cute figure. But Caleb was different; he liked Hanna for her gigantic heart, and had always loved her with his own gigantic heart, and Spencer was so happy that _Hanna_ could finally be happy.

"But actually," Hanna said, pulling Spencer out of her thoughts, "I thought he'd be good for you."

This time, Spencer did drop her serving spoon, letting it clash to the ground with a loud _clang_. "Me? Why me?"

Hanna rolled her eyes as though it was obvious. "Did you see the way he was looking at you?" she pointed out. "He's _so _into you; he wouldn't take his eyes off of the car when we drove off!"

"Toby does not like me," Spencer reassured as she bent over to pick up the spoon and placed it on the counter. "He barely even knows me, and I barely even know him!"

"Then get to know him!" Hanna said bluntly. "He probably watches you when you're onstage, so go backstage and ask him questions about building the set!"

"Why should I do that?" Spencer asked. "And more importantly, how do you _know_ all of this?"

Hanna walked over to the pasta that was cooking, pulling one out and taste-testing it. "I read magazines," she said complacently as she slurped the noodle and continued stirring the pasta. "And you should do that because he's cute! And I had a two minute conversation with him, and can already tell he's the sweet, sensitive type. Perfect for you!"

Spencer blinked. "But I'm not that sweet, or sensitive."

"Exactly," Hanna said pointedly as she jabbed her spoon into the air at Spencer, before sticking it back into the pasta to continue stirring. "You're all controlling and demanding, so you need someone who's _not_ controlling and demanding to balance you out!"

Spencer threw her hands out in front of her to calm Hanna down. This was a little too much. Spencer had simply run into a cute guy earlier, and now Hanna was on the road to planning a future for them, and if Spencer didn't stop her soon, she'd start naming their kids for them.

The sad part was this wouldn't even be the first time.

"Han, slow down," Spencer said carefully. "I barely even know Toby, and so what if we had a bit of chemistry today? That was one encounter. For all I know, we could be totally wrong for each other! What if he's not as sensitive and sweet as you peg him to be?"

Hanna placed the spoon to the side, turned off the burner, and pivoted so that she was facing Spencer. "That's for you to find out."

Once again, Spencer was speechless, and before she could even come up with something to say, Hanna walked past her, turned off the blender, and made her way out of the kitchen. "Drain the noodles for me, would you?"

As Hanna started setting the table for the two of them, Spencer made her way over to the noodles and searched through the cabinets for a mesh bowl to drain them, but she did so without even thinking much about it. Right now, she was thinking about Toby. Yeah, he was handsome, and had seemed sweet, but could Hanna really tell that easily that he liked her? And how had she missed the signs? Should she have paid closer attention to him? Should she have _noticed_ him before?

Whether she knew he existed before or not, maybe now was a good time to start. Maybe, if what Hanna said was true, she should give a shot at getting to know this black cat on the stage crew.

Maybe she should give Toby whatever-his-last-name-was - she'd have to figure out a way to ask him later - a shot.

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**Aren't they just the cutest?**

**Review like crazy for the next chapter! There are about 3-4 left. Love you guys :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'd like to address a guest reviewer who said I was "begging" for reviews and that I wasn't writing because I loved it. I'm sorry if it comes off that way. I certainly don't mean for it to seem like I'm "begging", but if you wrote fanfic, you would understand my position. This story is DONE. I WROTE and FINISHED the story because I love writing, but how am I supposed to keep posting chapters of it if people don't let me know that they're reading it? So it's a little unreasonable to expect me to keep posting if two seconds can't be spared to let me know how I'm doing and if you're liking it. I encourage this guest reviewer, if they're still reading, to try writing for themselves so they can gain a little perspective.**

**As for the rest of you: you're all too sweet. Thank you for the influx of reviews last chapter! I really appreciated them, and I'm so happy you all liked the Spanna. I hope you enjoy these last few chapters! So read on, and don't forget to review/follow/favorite/WHATEVER at the end! :)**

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Toby slumped his shoulders as he made his way across the auditorium with all of the gusto of a slug. It had been a week since his encounter with Spencer, and she hadn't made a move to talk to him since. Granted, he hadn't made a move either, but that was only because of how painfully shy he was. Had that been a deal-breaker for her? He had tried his best to seem less socially-awkward than he actually was when he spoke to her, but apparently he couldn't get past it; it was written all over him, from the way his shaggy brown hair swooped down to conceal half of his face to the way his head dropped to his shuffling shoes to avoid eye contact.

Great. So he had blown it, and on the first try, too.

Toby firmed his grip on the handle of the toolbox in his right hand as he looked up to the stage. Unfortunately, Spencer wasn't in this scene, but Noel was, which only made Toby angrier.

Toby squinted as he tried to make out which scene they were on. Ezra had made everyone on the crew read the script so that they would know cues, and when Toby spotted his friend Caleb, who played Tybalt, and Paige McCullers, who played Mercutio, each clutching swords - wooden, of course, and painted silver at the hands of Lucas - in their hands in the center of the stage, he figured this must've been the fight scene where they were both killed.

"Good King of Cats," Paige shouted heartily, "nothing but one of your nine lives, that I mean to make bold withal, and, as you shall use me hereafter, dry-beat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears? Make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out."

Caleb let out a malicious chuckle as he twirled his sword in his hands and slyly grinned in Paige's direction. "I am for you," he purred, and then the two engaged in a series of stage combat moves that looked more like an interpretive-style dance to Toby. But when he looked over at the director's chair, he spotted Ezra hunched over and chewing his nails, muttering over his cuticles how beautiful it all was. Toby then rolled his eyes and started to make his way out of the auditorium as Noel, in character, let out mangled cries for the fight to cease, but as he pivoted in the direction of the exit, he spotted a shorter figure make their way through the dark toward him.

"Dude," Holden said once his frame was visible, holding his arms out to the side in a _what gives_ manner. "I asked you to bring me those tools ten minutes ago. What's with the snail speed?"

Toby blinked, and then looked down at the toolbox that he was holding. He couldn't believe it. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he had forgotten that Holden had sent him to retrieve the tools from the toolshed. Sheepishly, Toby handed over the toolbox. "Sorry, man."

Holden raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side as he reached over and grasped the tools. He then raised one corner of his lips into a half-moon shape. "You've got it bad."

Toby took a step back, confused. "Sorry?"

Holden's pupils spun in their sockets like a ferris wheel on high speed. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

Toby nearly wanted to kick something. Why was it that everyone could read him like a children's book these days? But finally, he gave a curt nod of his head to confirm that yes, he _was_ thinking about her. He was _always_ thinking about her. He couldn't think of a single moment where he _wasn't_ thinking about her.

Holden's smirk then softened a bit into a look that was almost sympathetic, which made Toby feel even worse. But Holden ignored this and clapped Toby on the shoulder as he walked him out of the auditorium. "I know how we can get your mind off of it," he offered. "We'll take a lunch break at that sandwich shop across the street that you like. Sound good?"

Toby was surprised to find himself smiling. "That sounds amazing, actually."

Just as they had left the auditorium and were on their way out of the theatre, Toby and Holden were both stopped in their tracks when a pixie-like frame that could only belong to Aria Montgomery swooped into their line of sight.

Holden's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Aria had taken off her nurse's costume and was now merely wearing the bleach white lace romper that was supposed to go under it. And with her long black hair falling in loose curls down her back and her mascara accentuating her hazel eyes, even Toby, whose own eyes were straight set on only one girl, had to say she looked stunning.

Aria quickly smiled at Toby, acknowledging his presence, before turning back to Holden, a vixen grin gracing her fair face as she focused her entire attention on him. "I don't have to be on stage for another fifteen minutes," she whispered in his direction, inching forward with ease as she slipped her fingers through his.

Holden froze, shifting his gaze from their intertwined hands back up to her face, looking like a deer in the headlights as he finally managed to whisper, "_Only_ fifteen minutes?"

Aria let out a mocking laugh at Holden's naivete. "That's plenty of time, wouldn't you say?"

A tinge of crimson started creeping its way to the surface of Holden's cheeks, before spreading all the way to the edges of his face, being sure not to miss minuscule areas like his nose or his forehead. So when he glanced up at Toby with the expression of a small puppy - a sunburnt one at that - begging for a piece of beef jerky, Toby gave him a reassuring glance that no, he didn't need to put Toby's stupid, lovesick depression over his own girlfriend of 5 months. Holden then immediately perked up, muttering "Janitor's closet" to Aria, and then the two of them sprinted off down the hall without giving Toby a second glance.

"They drive me insane, too."

Toby spun around at the sound of a familiar voice. It was the same gravelly, sultry, sweet voice that he could have only dreamed would be directed at him.

Spencer was sitting up against the wall, her script perched on top of her knees and her skirt that her character was supposed to wear draped around her legs. Her hair was in a tight, uncomfortable-looking bun on top of her head, and her face was a bit tanner than usual due to the stage makeup she was wearing, yet somehow she managed to look just as gorgeous as always.

After a couple of seconds of admiring her beauty, Toby snapped himself back into reality, realizing that Spencer was talking to him. _Him_. "Umm... yeah," he finally blurted out, trying to come to his sense about what they were talking about. "Me too."

Spencer rolled her eyes playfully. "I mean, I'm happy for her because she's my best friend and all," she continued, "but she's _such_ a romantic. So when she's around Holden, it's like nothing else in the world exists."

_Kind of like how I feel when I'm around you_, Toby thought to himself, but didn't dare say out loud. But now that he knew the subject of the conversation, he felt a bit more confident. "It's the same with me," he said, feeling a bit daring as he knelt down to Spencer's level on the ground. "Holden's such a good friend of mine, and it's so cool to see how devoted he is to Aria, but at the same time..."

"You kinda want to gag every time you see them be all mushy with each other?" Spencer prompted, and Toby snapped his fingers in her direction. "Exactly!"

They both laughed, and Spencer leaned her head back against the wall. "I don't know, though," she finally said once she had caught her breath. "I think part of me is just jealous of what they have. Especially since I'm the only one in my group of friends that isn't in a relationship."

Toby was about to jump at the opportunity to say that any guy would be lucky to date her, maybe even point out that this included him, but before he could live up to his fantasy, before he could sweep Spencer Hastings off of her feet with his nonexistent charm, a shrill voice cut through his dreams like a sharp pair of scissors.

"Toby, what are you doing?" Mona said sternly, and when he looked up, she was towering over him - something he never thought he'd experience - in her stacked heels and headset, clutching a clipboard in her arms as Toby knelt on the ground, completely paralyzed.

Toby opened and closed his mouth like a fish as he searched his brain for an appropriate answer, but unfortunately none came to mind. Fortunately, though, he was saved.

"He's just helping me with my lines," Spencer lied, coming to his rescue. "I'm really sorry, it was my fault. Do you need him for anything?"

Mona narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and Toby could feel his heart rate speed up, as though it were running a marathon through his organs. "No," Mona finally said in a soft, yet equally effective, voice. "I suppose not as long as he's still contributing to the show."

Without another word, she turned on her foot and walked in the other direction, and as soon as the echoing of her footsteps on the linoleum ceased to be heard, Toby let out the breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding, before turning back to Spencer. "Thanks," he said gratefully. "You have no idea how hard it is having her breathe down your neck all the time."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I do," she pointed out. "She gets on the actors' cases just as much."

"Really?"

Spencer crossed her arms across her chest, giving Toby a knowing glance. "We're not as different as you might think, you know."

Toby felt the blood rush from his face. "I... I'm sorry, I wasn't insinuating anything."

Spencer's knowing glance flipped into a smile in a millisecond, catching Toby off guard. How did she _do_ that? God, she was amazing. "Don't worry about it," she said casually. "Al_though_, if you really feel bad about it..."

Toby's ears perked up, and he felt his stomach churn. "Yes...?"

Spencer bowed her head. "I actually could use some help on my lines... would you mind?"

Toby felt like his heart, which had just recovered from running its marathon, could grow wings and fly out of his mouth at that very moment. He wouldn't have minded if Spencer had asked him to scrub every single floor in this theatre, let alone something as simple as lines. But Toby knew he had to play it cool, so he scooched over to the wall, pressing his back against it in the same way as she did, and grabbed the script triumphantly. "Not at all," he said genuinely. "Which page do we start on?"

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**You all know what to do ;)**


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